Excellent - just don't expect continuity with any of the Fanal Fantasy RPGs

I think this film is wonderful. The CG animation is amazing - there are moments, particularly the character close-ups, where you can't quite be sure whether you're watchig real actors. This film bombed big time at the cinema, and one of the reasons suggested was actually the fact that the characters were so life-like they were almost creepy. Another reason is perhaps the fact that this is a stand alone piece of work and has no relationship with any of the Final Fantasy RPGs, which probably infuriated the fan boys. However, the story is mature and deals with mature issues - namely friendship, love, death and the afterlife, the individuals part in the big picture etc etc, but it's also a fully fledged action film with some pretty amazing set pieces and really exciting moments. It's refreshing to see a grown-up CG film where the story is paramount and there are no smart-ass animals, silly/crude jokes and dependence upon talentless 'stars of the moment' to pull in the punters. I would be more inclinded to purchase the special addition as it has a bunch of extras that are worth seeing for the few extra quid.

Highly recommended, and probably not what you would be expecting (that is a good thing.)

Great movie! I enjoyed it very much!

Before I saw it, I read in one of the customers' reviews that while watching this animation people tend to believe the characters being under impression that this is a live movie with real actors. I watched it today - it is totally true!

I could see realistic emotions of drawn characters, which I never experienced watching animation. And I loved the story. Don't believe to trailer; what you saw there is not what you will find in the movie... the story develops in a very dynamic way with absolutely unexpected result! That was really entertaining, and thanks to other customers for not disclosing the plot in their reviews! Intrigued? Watch it!

By the way, please keep your children out of this DVD, as there is some violence, a few explicit talks, and lots of serious social problems, which you would never be able to explain to them....

Good but HOW long?

Let's start on a positive note. This film looks great, is interesting, dark and broody, and makes good use of what it's got. But let us not beat around the bush about the problem with this film. It is short. VERY short. The product description lists the film as having a 69 minute run time but I put this on at 11.30 last night and it was over by 12.15.

I'd hate to tell people not to watch this, because it really is a good movie, but be aware that when I say it's short, it is indeed short.

Not really a sequal to Whisper of the heart

If you think this is a sequal to Whisper of the heart, it isn't really.
They have taken the shop, 'Moon' and the Baron from Whisper of the heart and put them together with a different girl (Haru).

I'm sure everyone's said the storyline enough by now, but incase you still don't know it:
Haru is walking down the street, and saves a cat from getting run over. The cat is actually a prince, so his father, the cat king repays her with lots of cat themed presents like mice. They announce they will collect her in the evening and take her to the cat world to marry the prince. A voice tells her to see the Baron, led by Moon (who is called something else in this film). The cats take her to their kingdom, and the Baron and Moon try to save her. The more she gets used to being in their kingdom, the more she becomes a cat. By the end the prince comes and stops the king from marrying them, and she gets home again. The end.

I don't think its suitable for anime fans, its too childish. There is humour in it, but, not enough to make me want to watch it again. Yet the artwork was so detailed, its not really suitable for young kids to appreciate it. Then who is it suitable for?
I would compare this film to the episode of Excel saga with all the dogs, if you scrap all the violence. All the voices were too American as well.

Whisper of the heart was much better, however if you watch the cat returns first, you might not enjoy Whisper of the heart. So make sure you watch that one first!

good looking but slightly shallow

The concept is good, and it is interesting to see how the characeters jump through various time periods, but there's not much else: chiyoko keeps searching for the artist, in real life but this is mirrored by the films she makes, she tells her story, and the camera crew follow her around. That's it. I thought it was excellent film the first time I watched it, but was tedious on the second viewing. It is too short really, but because the story is as one-tracked as it is, it's probablt around the best running time. The soundtrack is great, and it is visually fantastic, and I loved the overall 'look' of the film. The extras are pretty poor, and it's only worth one watch really, so I highly recommend this as a rental.

Anime perfection

There is a reason while Cowboy Bebop has been enormously popular in Japan as well as Europe and the States - that reason is because it is brilliant. The animation is beautiful - certainly better than the TV series due to the bigger budget - but this is matched by the excellent story line and voice acting. If only a lot of the cruddy American and European films and TV series showed the same dedication to the writing quality! The English dub (which, if you're honest, can be pretty horrible or laughable in some anime films) is also very good. In short, the story is set a little time before the end of the series, and concerns an apparently random terrorist act on Mars that leads to an irresistable bounty, a very dangerous antagonist and a high level conspiracy. The charactisation of the main protagonist - Spike Spiegel - as well as his 'friends' on the ex fishing vessel the Bebop, is so good in this film that pre-existing knowledge of the series is not necessary. The writing is so good that you may even feel a twang of understanding for the bad guy. The action sequences are pretty exciting and not a frame of film is wasted. After watching this, I went off the buy the series because I just needed more!

Of note are the extras. There are interviews with both the Japanese and English voice cast, as well as an interesting section that compares the storyboards with the final animation (cool if you're an anime afficianado). The music is ace too - take note of the Yoko Kanno who's worked on a number of anime films and series.

At this budget price, it's nothing short of a crime to not have this in your collection.

Elfen Lied is a MASTERPIECE.

Elfen Lied has it all, it really is amazing. I only got into anime recently and have fallen in love with this series. Elfen Lied just delivers in all aspects, the style is amazing, the music is amazing and the dubbed and subbed versions of the anime are both well done. Never has a anime series been so emotional, so brutal and so MADE OF PURE WIN. The name 'Elfen Lied' means Elvish song and it has nothing to do with the main story so to speak. I am currently watching this anime for the 3rd time round, yes, its that good. People say some plot holes are left open at the end, and they are, but still these are not so massive that it's something to get annoyed about. It's just a disappointment the manga is in japan only. This box set contains 4 discs and is 13 episodes long. You'll watch them quick, because it's that good. Then you'll watch it again, because it's that good. There is a 14th ep. not included on this disc, but this was only released in japan, and you can find it online to watch it. All this contained however is some plot hole fillers and a naked shower scene, nothing dodgy, Elfen lied is not hentai but it does contain nudity and gore. Also some people refer to ep. 14 as ep 10.5 because it takes place in between ep. 10 and 11.

Buy Elfen Lied. Love Elfen Lied. Perhaps the only bad thing is that you won't find another anime better than it.... ever.

Finally something better than Cowboy Bebop!

For a while now I've considered Cowboy Bebop to be my favourite anime. Well not anymore! The reason for that is that this film is near enough perfect in my opinion. I haven't seen the original Vampire Hunter D, whether thats for better or worse I can't tell, as I've seen some pretty mixed reviews for that one. Pretty much everything about this film is great. The animation is incredible, I haven't seen many other anime with as much detail as this. The music is epic and really sets the tone of the movie. The plot is great and easy to follow. The english dub (which i prefer to watch in anime) is perfect with not one annoying voices. The only problem seems to be one that is in most anime. I'm tired of not seeing any proper fight scenes. Instead you just get a big slash across the screen and then you see someone cut in half. It can get quite tedious, especially when most of the anime I watch contains sword fighting. But to be honest, a problem like that still can't stop me from loving this film. It's just too great to crticise. Most highly recommended.

An overly americanised release of a truly classic animé

Robotech the macross saga was originally titled"macross" overseas,
but as per usual an american company took over the reigns of the
western release, changed the characters names, situations and the
main plot of the show to create the first installment of the Robotech
saga.

This was subsequently done with two other stand alone anime called
"southern cross" (The masters) and"mospoeada" (The New Generation) which
make up the rest of the Robotech saga.

The main reason for this was because a well know toy company had already
released a range of transforming toys under the title of robotech, so
obviously when the toy company caught wind of a TV series following the
same themes, they bought up the distribution rights for the series
(Macross)and also the other works by the same team (SC and Mospoeada)
edited them together and pretty much created one large scale advertisement.

But it really isnt all that bad, Although the three anime were in a way
butchered to make Robotech it is still a very good, if not great series.
But if like me you're a fan of the original versions then you may find
the new additions to the dubbing and credits incredibly american,
for example each episode is narrated in the first and last 3mins and at
key junctures by a cliché american voice actor, spouting phrases like
"STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT AAMAAZZZINGGG EPISODE OF ROBOTECH!".

These issues aside Robotech still contains most of what made it great
to watch in the first place, Furious space battles and a involving,and
incrediby deep(at times) plot.

Mainly centered around a small cast of characters thrown into increasingly
desperate situations each episode of robotech follows a simple formula
of drama, action and humour which never completely overwhelms you and
always keeps you gripped waiting for the"NEXT EXCITING DEVELOPMENT IN THE
ROBOTECH SAGA".

Onto the animation,

The actual animation in robotech varies depending on which series youre
watching,

The macross saga's animation is detailed and very gritty closer to a
tech noir style, whereas the last two parts of the saga take a bit of
a drop in quality (mainly due to the fact of being small budget series
and because of the editing I mentioned at the begining of this review)
Nevertheless it never drops to the low quality seen in such anime as
M.D geist which are from a similar period.

The actual release quality is not to great, as with most manga releases
they have only really remastered the sound and only removed a minimal amount
of interference that was on the vhs masters meaning at times that some
episodes can have a below dvd quality picture.
Furthermore there is little in the way of special features on
any of the disks, mainly consisting of trailers that include mangas
up and coming releases.

Editing and release shortcomings aside, Robotech is every bit of a landmark
anime as akira, if you havent seen it in its original incarnations as
"Macross","southern cross" and"mospoeada" then you will probably
find it one of the most original and brilliant anime ever to grace your
television.

A must buy for any Otaku or even a first timer looking to sink their fangs
into the anime medium.

I give it 4 stars on the plot alone, because thats all that matters in the end.

best film ever

this is by far the best film i have seen in a long time, amazeing a great film for any naruto fan but would also be a great film for a starter to watch

Finally a Manga film that makes sense!

If you're like me then you'll know that a lot of manga films can (at times) make no sense whatsoever.

But Ninja Scroll actually has quite a logical story, and it contains everything you'd expect from a manga classic: sex, violence & humour.

Story wise it's very simple: Basically there are some bad guys and a lone wanderer has to kill them. Nice. They even manage to throw a bit of a love story into the mix for good measure.

Yes this film has it all. But I would say that it is not a film for everybody. Infact it is a boys movie thru and thru. Remember it's a cartoon with violence. And violent it certainly is. Nowadays when we have the digital blood spillage in films like"300", it's good to see the old fashioned animated original.

If you enjoyed the violence in the animated part of Kill Bill, then this is the film for you. This film is now regarded as a classic.

Doesn't quite work

On the positive side:

- This DVD collection is better value than buying the films separately. There is a fair bit of material here for £20.
- Considering that `Voices of a distant star' was produced entirely by the efforts of one man (on a desktop PC), it should be regarded as a major achievement and inspiration to other film makers.

On the negative side:

- His sci-fi story lines are lightweight and underdeveloped (Philipp K. Dick this ain't!).
- The animation is workmanlike, but not spectacular (the CGI bits are the most effective).
- His use of background music is overbearing, and spoils the mood of the film.
- The dialogue is mostly touchy/feely adolescent nonsense, lacking in depth and intelligence.
- `The Place Promised ...' is way too long, and would have benefited from being cut down to 45 mins. I found it hard to stay interested all of the way through.

Judged on their own merits, my own opinion is that Shinkai's movies are a bit overrated. I have no doubt many people will disagree with me. But for me, neither of these two films quite worked. His mixture of sci-fi and friendship/relationship drama is not an effective formula.

`Voices ......' 4 stars.
`The Place Promised ...' 3 stars.

Prepare to be very depressed.

I would like to start this review with a warning. Studio Ghibli films are usually quite light-hearted and enjoyable. This film is anything but enjoyable. In fact, it is incredibly depressing.

Basically, it's about a brother and sister who have to fend for themselves after the death of their mother. It says that on the back of the box so I wouldn't consider it a spoiler. So they stay with a horribly cold and emotionless aunt for a while and then decide to leave and live by themselves, and, well, the result is bad. I won't spoil it for you. If you really do want to watch this film, have something happy to pick you back up afterwards because this will leave you feeling rather miserable, more so than any other film I have seen.

It is not that the film doesn't have it's beauty. There are parts where the animation is nice. The fireflies, the burning buildings etc are all beautiful in a way but the characters are not very well animated at all. They seem somewhat expressionless and never seem to show any emotion in their faces except for when they are actually crying. I suppose Seita might be in shock, which could explain his blank, lifeless expression while people lose their lives around him. Another aspect that really lets it down is the awful English dub. The voice actors seem to have just been given a script and asked to read it in an emotionless and cold manner. This just adds to the horribly cold and sterile nature in which the characters die. You just can't help but feel sorry for Setsuko who is left in the hands of her very incapable brother who seems to idiotically leave her on her own while he ventures out for food. I don't know how old she is supposed to be, but he is supposed to be 14, which you would not guess considering the complete lack of common sense he displays. The enevitable happens and you can't help but wonder if in WWII Japan people really were dying all over the place from starvation as if in medieval times. Were there no homeless shelters, was there no system of aid, did the authorities even care?

I am so surprised that this has such a high score. I decided not to give this a rating of 1 because that is too harsh, and, not to forget the fact that arrogant movie fans who think they know what they are talking about would be very critical of my review. A rating of 2 seems fair as the animation is mediocre, the voice acting is awful and the subject matter is far from 'entertainment'. This is one and a half hours of gloom and morbidity. It would take a completely heartless person to watch this and not be affected. But the question is; do you want a film to make you depressed? Is that the aim of watching a film in the first place. A film is meant to make you think, make you feel something, but when it just makes you feel awful then I really think the makers have missed the point.

Please don't see the Ghibli logo and think 'wow this looks interesting' because honestly, this is not for animé fans, nor fans of movies either. I would almost say that it was cruel to unleash this film onto the public. If you want to see a great Ghibli film try Kiki's Delivery Service of Princess Mononoke. If you want to see a great war film try Barefoot Gen (also grim but in a different way) or perhaps one of the many great Vietnam war films, but just don't watch this.

Ash is Back

Ash and Misty take part in a race where Pokemon trainers who have water types has the Pokemon pull them around the course.
This movie is OK but I think they could now change the team to the team in the new series of Pokemon which are Ash, Brock, May and Max.
Team Rocket don’t really feature in this movie it’s more like freelance who are working for there own intrests.
I would rather see the normal Team Rocket foul up again.

At last the movie is here!!!!!!!!!!

Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles picks up in the final moments of the last episode of the Robotech TV series, with the Invid forces leaving Earth in fear of a new weapon given to humanity by a secretive race known as the Children of Shadow. The 2D animation is simply fantastic and has a real warmth to it, and with voices by Mark Hamill from Star Wars and Chase Masterson from Star trek: Deep Space 9 this is a must see film for all Sci-Fi fans and fans of the TV series.

pokemon the second movie hot or not?

pokemon 2000 is a great movie but has a few faults

pokemon 2000 has beautiful graphics especially for the legendarys (Zapdos,Articuno,Moltres and Lugia)
Yes dont worry i said that too (wooooooooooo!)
it is action straight from the start and doesnt really stop the whole movie however it does stop and have about a 5 minute boring ending so watch out for that.

but all in all it is a brilliant movie!

my verdict: BUY IT!!!!!

This movie rocks- don't be fooled by the pokemon label!

Yes- There is the manadatory"pokemon-ness" of the film, it's a pokemon film after all but once you get into the story you'll want to watch it over and over again! Here's the story:

Molly's father is an archeologist ( well in the pokemon world) and one day he disappears leaving her orphaned; when she is informed of his disappearance she is given a box containing ancient letters- her father's last discovery before his disappearance (This is when the fun starts). The letters somehow end up summoning the mythical pokemon- Unown- from a different dimension!

These pokemon have the ability to turn Molly's thoughts into reality and as with every child what they wish for is simply fantastic! translating into some of the best looking graphics I've seen. As her thoughts change, her enviroment changes and the animators refused to take short cuts.

I haven't said too much about the story but I believe if you want to get this dvd - get this dvd for the story- valuable lessons are learnt as a girl gets caught in a web of her own making in the quest to get her father back. It's what I would call a"heart-acher" instead of a tear-jerker. It's as sobering as the pokemon the first movie( if you thought about it)- deeper but less epic than the second movie and stands on its own two feets with ease. In other words- BUY IT NOW!

Touching, emotional and absolutely sublime

This is an incredible film. It’s heart warming, moving, yet at the same time simply remarkable. I am a really big Daft Punk fan, owning every single one of their albums, and I can safely say you are not making a mistake in buying this.

I first saw this in the cinema, and as it was out on DVD, decided to show it to some of my friends; they all loved it, even if they weren ’ t fans of Daft Punk. BUY THIS NOW!!!

the essential dvd for any pokemon fan to begin with.

this is a great dvd. there is a commentary and loads of good extras. plus, it introduces ash brock misty and team rocket quite well. this is the ultimate pokemon showdown between a crazed phsychic pokemon called mewtwo, clone of mew, hellbent on taking over the world. plus the mini movie pikachus vacation is great and just adds an extra sense of excitement to the dvd. if you love pokemon then you are going to love this. Buy now if you like pokemon. you get it new for 6.00 off this website OR off an amazon user selling it for around two pounds cheaper.

Fire vs. Ice

This volume of the excellent Avatar series contains the final four episodes of the shows first season. Of the four episodes on this DVD the first is pretty much a stand alone episode that sees Aang and friends investigate reports of activity in the supposedly abandoned Northern Air Temple. What he finds there depresses and angers him but he is soon forced to put these thoughts aside in order to defend the temple from a fire nation attack. This is an okay episode and although it is really only a filler episode before the season finale, there are some suggestions of the future towards the end.

The other three episodes on this volume are really one extended story rather than distinct episodes in their own right. The first of these episodes sees the trio finally make it to the Northern Water Tribe but tribal tradition complicates Aangs search for a Water Bending master and Admiral Zhao gathers forces for an assault. This is a great episode that begins to show the strengths of Water Bending and the fight between Katara and Master Pakku is one of the best in the series so far.

The two part season finale itself is probably the best episode from the entire season and sees Admiral Zhao leading a massive Fire Nation armada against the Northern Water Tribe and enacting a plan that could mean disaster for the worlds Water Benders. These brilliant episodes see Aang travel to the spirit world as well as letting loose with the full force of his powers as the Avatar. The episodes are also quite touching in places especially between Sokka and Princess Yue.

Avatar is one of the best animated series from America for a long time with few bad episodes and managing to always be funny and entertaining. I will be greatly looking forward to the next season of this great series.